Vander Ven argues that college students rely on "drunk support." Contrary to most accounts of alcohol abuse as being a solitary problem of one person drinking to excess, the college drinking scene is very much a social one where students support one another through nights of drinking games, rituals and rites of passage.

Underage drinking and binge drinking are not harmless rites of passage. Rather than serving as some kind of bridge to adulthood, these illicit activities exact a senseless and severe price in blood and brain cells each semester. The proof is in the firsthand student accounts of out-of-control house parties and bar blasts, the testimonies of concerned health care professionals, and the tragic news stories related in this landmark book. The good news is that the damage, injuries, and deaths attributed to binge drinking are avoidable. The solutions offered in Dying to Drink will help schools to improve the quality of campus life, parents to ensure the safety of their sons and daughters, and our young people to get the most out of their college years-- without the beer goggles.

This instructive manual presents a pragmatic and clinically proven approach to the prevention and treatment of undergraduate alcohol abuse. The BASICS model is a nonconfrontational, harm reduction approach that helps students reduce their alcohol consumption and decrease the behavioral and health risks associated with heavy drinking. Including numerous reproducible handouts and assessment forms, the book takes readers step-by-step through conducting BASICS assessment and feedback sessions. Special topics covered include the use of DSM-IV criteria to evaluate alcohol abuse, ways to counter student defensiveness about drinking, and obtaining additional treatment for students with severe alcohol dependency. Note about Photocopy Rights: The Publisher grants individual book purchasers nonassignable permission to reproduce selected figures, information sheets, and assessment instruments in this book for professional use. For details and limitations, see copyright page.

Alcohol use by young people is extremely dangerous - both to themselves and society at large. Underage alcohol use is associated with traffic fatalities, violence, unsafe sex, suicide, educational failure, and other problem behaviors that diminish the prospects of future success, as well as health risks â€" and the earlier teens start drinking, the greater the danger. Despite these serious concerns, the media continues to make drinking look attractive to youth, and it remains possible and even easy for teenagers to get access to alcohol. Why is this dangerous behavior so pervasive? What can be done to prevent it? What will work and who is responsible for making sure it happens? Reducing Underage Drinking addresses these questions and proposes a new way to combat underage alcohol use. It explores the ways in which may different individuals and groups contribute to the problem and how they can be enlisted to prevent it. Reducing Underage Drinking will serve as both a game plan and a call to arms for anyone with an investment in youth health and safety.

Substance use among college students can result in serious academic and safety problems and have long-term negative repercussions. This state-of-the-art volume draws on the latest research on students' alcohol and drug use to provide useful suggestions for how to address this critical issue on college campuses. Leading researchers from multiple disciplines examine the prevalence and nature of substance use by students; biological and neuropsychological considerations; psychological and social aspects; prevention; and policy. Exemplary programs are presented -- including brief interventions, comprehensive prevention programs, and recovery support programs -- enhancing the utility of the book for campus-based clinicians and administrators. This title is part of The Duke Series in Child Development and Public Policy, edited by Kenneth A. Dodge and Martha Putallaz.

Drinking is recognized as one of the most important problems confronting students on campus today, with major impacts on health and safety.This book answers crucial questions about why students drink, examines its complex links to campus crime and sexual assault, and offers new insights on how to address the issue.It differs from other studies of college drinking by dispelling the myth that the problem is universal. Dowdall’s research reveals that the incidence of alcohol abuse varies enormously between colleges, and in doing so identifies interventions and policies that have been effective, and those that have failed. His study is also unique in looking “upstream” at the broader cultural, organizational and social forces that shape this behavior, where most studies focus only on “downstream” behaviors, well after students have selected their college and have started drinking. Students and parents can take action to lower the risk of binge drinking by following the book’s recommendations, and consulting the data it provides about alcohol violations and crime at thousands of colleges. For administrators and student affairs personnel, it both defines and illuminates the issue, and outlines effective interventions.

Dying to Drink will shock most parents, who see binge drinking from a distance and are pretty sure that their child isnt doing it or, if they are, that the activity is relatively harmless. Dr. Henry Wechsler, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, has some unpleasant news for them:Two of five college students binge-drink at least once per week.More students binge-drink than use illicit drugs or smoke cigarettes.Alcohol has been linked to one-half of all campus crime.The alcohol industry spends $1.8 billion a year in advertising, much of it targeted at college students.College students spend more annually on alcohol than on soft drinks, tea, milk, juice, coffee, and schoolbooks combined. Americas colleges are in crisis, and Dying to Drink will bring an understanding to readers not only of the seriousness of the problem but also how to combat it from an informed position.Dr. Wechsler and Bernice Wuethrich present an objective analysis of specific college alcohol policies and their effectiveness in this call to action for parents, colleges, and lawmakers. Dying to Drink is required reading for any parent sending his or her son or daughter off to school.